All in the Family

AntAltMike said:

Or it may have more to do with the availability of cable TV. When broadcast TV chickens out and doesn't carry something that might be considered "insensitive', there is little pressure applied by those who might want such a product because there are other outlets for it.

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In real political terms, not really. In the 70s, with shows from Norman Lear and M*A*S*H, there was a true left wing tilt in popular primetime programming, largely due to the acceptable unpopularity of Vietnam and support for the civil rights movements of African Americans and women, which made baby boomers feel more sophisticated than their parents. As the economy worsen in the late 70s, American audiences began fantasizing about, and eventually celebrating, wealth, with shows like Dallas, Dynasty, and the Reagan Administration. A stark difference from both the humble conservatism of television during the Eisenhower-Kennedy years and the active progressiveness of the later Johnson and Nixon years.

Today's popular cable programming provides stronger sex and violence than current network programming but it usually doesn't have the explicit political/moral component that the best remembered 70s sitcoms did.

The one similarity I believe is valid is that what allowed All in the Family to be the #1 watched program was that Archie Bunker was the original "politically incorrect" spokesman. He was a bigot, but he was a lovable bigot which allowed many people to vicariously say things that were increasingly socially unacceptable. Shows like The Sopranos and Man Men work the same way today. The intelligence of the writing and production allows it to be acceptable to enjoy "men behaving badly," either through characters who are murderers or characters whose time period allows them to be written as less liberal than Archie Bunker.